Wine Making

‘Minimal intervention’

The term gets used quite often and can lend itself to many different interpretations. Generally this term is associated with a wine making style that is in essence as hands-off as possible. 

“Minimal Intervention Wines” are generally made without the use of things like harsh clarifying products, and other potential additions/Interventions; such as wine making acids, additional tannins, and adding sugar products.

At Glandore we have a balanced approach to Wine Making. 

Minimal Intervention Wine Making is used in wines when the fruit and the vines that have been farmed under our watch, by us, and most importantly has had maximum care and attention to detail in the farming of these grapes.   This means that the grapes arrive in the winery in the best possible condition, having been guided to reach optimal ripeness for the style that we wish to make.
In the winery we will apply the same approach as in the vineyard to achieve a minimal intervention approach – which is: Maximum attention to detail and care when handling the fruit, juice and wine.

The more accurate and thoughtful we are in interacting with this evolving enigma in its time in our winery, the less chance there will be for any intervention.
The same principles and challenges always apply in Wine making, to combat these, our approach is to have the most pure and delicious juice possible at the beginning, which if handled with care and attention will require little if any intervention.

Our aim with every wine we make is to make an excellent wine that shows a snapshot of the season, provides a sense of place from the region/vineyard/soil that it comes from, and ultimately evokes emotions, thoughts, conversation and joy to the drinkers.

Keen to try a new style?  Discover our Wines Here

Duane’s Cellaring Insights

I have lost count of the times I’ve had this conversation. “Yes, we have a wine cellar. It’s under the stairwell in the middle of the house”

If it’s not temperature controlled, either naturally or mechanically, it’s not a wine cellar, it’s a storage cupboard.

Don’t believe me?  Then grab a thermometer that records the highest and lowest temperatures over a given period of time and see what results you get.

SO, why isn’t the under the stairs a great storage spot for wine?  It has to do with the highs and lows of the temperature variation.  Wine does respond well to this! As the temperature of the bottle increases, the wine expands.  As it cools, the wine shrinks in mass, creating a slight pump cycle that draw in oxygen through a cork – we don’t want this!  If your wine is under screwcap, (which most Australia wine is) then the variation can accelerate the aging process and or damage chemical compounds.  Screwcaps are less susceptible to oxidising from temperature fluctuations than corked wine, but they still love a constant temperature.

The upside for under the stair is that it’s dark and wine likes to be kept in the dark. UV light can degrade wine, especially delicate wines like Champagne just from the light striking.  Unfortunately, this subtle influence will negatively affect flavour.

So why cellar wine in the first place – I mean it’s made to be drunk isn’t it?

The two most important reasons are:

Flavour development

Softening of the tannins

Let’s take a young Nebbiolo for example, bright red fruits on the nose, floral, ripe cherries on the palate and drying tannin, lots of it.  This is great for aging, but can throw the wine out of balance when young.  Not everyone loves that hard drying tannin.  Cellar it well and watch it blossom into something quite different.  The tannin will soften out making the wine silky and the wine’s fruit flavours will be morphed to reflect a blend of savoury and primary fruit flavours; think leather, tobacco, dried fruits and rose petals.  It will continue its savoury evolution the longer you cellar it for.

A very simplified way of explaining what’s happening is that the tannin is binding with the dissolved oxygen in the wine to soften the tannin, while the flavour profile is evolving in a confined space without excessive oxygen.

Now who could ignore one of the Australia’s wine treasures…aged Hunter Semillon. If you have ever had the pleasure of enjoying one, you will know what I’m talking about.  Semillon is Australia’s best white wine to age, with the spectacular transformation making it well worth the patience.  A wine aged to perfection is perfect for those special milestone occasions.

My advice?  Buy yourself a wine fridge and fill it up.  It doesn’t have to be an expensive one. A full wine fridge is a happy and more importantly a cheap to run wine fridge.

Now sit back, grab a glass and wait for that bottle of Glandore goodness to display it’s best flavours.  Or if you want to have your wine and drink it too, pay us a visit – we have a cellar full of back Vintages ready to load up your new wine fridge.

Find the right bottles to start your Cellar Collection

We recently had a chat with Duane, the talented vintner behind Glandore Estate’s delightful Rosé, made entirely from Merlot grapes.

Creating Glandore Rosé is a mix of gut feeling and years of experience. Duane’s aim? Crafting a light, crisp wine, finessing overall aroma suitable to a variety of tastes. His love affair with Merlot Rosé started long ago on a visit to the Bordeaux wine region in France.   That first taste of Merlot Rosé, ripe with complexity and wild strawberry flavours inspired him to make his Rosé also with merlot also at its heart.  Worlds apart from the sweet, heavy Roses of the 80’s like Mateus, Duane’s modern take on this popular classic, is refreshing, yet still complex.

When we asked him what sets his Rosé apart from what you’d find at your local bottle shop, Duane pointed out that many people choose wine based on brand, packaging, bling, colour or price; completely overlooking quality. For him, your average bottle shop Rosé could end up being more of a trendy accessory than a true flavour experience.

Back in the 70s and 80s, Rose was a popular choice with Boomers – in fact, Mateaus Rose was the most popular wine in the world in the 1970s!  Duane recalls his first experience of the sickly-sweet bottle of Mateaus that his well-meaning parents presented him with as a celebration gift when he became a chef.  Although it left a bad taste in his mouth back then, thankfully he rediscovered a whole new world of Rosé later in life.

The interesting thing about Rosé is that there is no one grape variety that makes the best or most popular Rosé, no one colour or flavour profile that is above all others – rose truly is one of the most flexible, yet complex wines in a class of its own.

A few winemaking options can be used for Rosé wine, including bleeding of a portion of juice from a freshly crushed red ferment, known as Saignée. Making Rosé in the standard winemaking process is now more widespread than ever, giving greater control over style, colour and flavour profile. In fact, you can even make Rosé by just giving a white wine a squirt of red, (but who’s buying the Chardonnay – Shiraz Rosé, no matter how good or bad it is.)

“When making Glandore’s 100% Merlot Rosé there are a few factors we focus on with regards to colour: time on skins, how hard we press the grapes, and fining at the crushing stage. It’s a little bit of guess work and a lot of experience to hit that sweet spot.

Being so varied, Rosé is quite versatile in how you drink it.  A dry crips rose could accompany a spicy curry, a sweeter rose might be enjoyed after dinner, or a complex rose could be the perfect accompaniment to cheese on a summer afternoon.  If you’re not sure which style of Rosé will suit your palate, or which Rosé will best compliment your chosen dish, the best place to discover your new favourite wine is a Pokolbin cellar door.

So – what is Duane’s all-time favourite Rosé?

“In a perfect world I would be sitting in the sunshine, overlooking the water in the French Riviera, Domain Tempier, Bandol Rosé in hand, enjoying freshly caught prawns and a side of fermented chili butter”.

While Duane’s is living it up in Europe, the Hunter Valley have some amazing Rosé’s and wonderful cellar doors ready to introduce you to them!  As Duane says, “there’s a Rosé for every occasion”, so we encourage you to head to the Around Hermitage Wine and Food trail and find your perfect Rosé.

Duane Roy, Glandore Winemaker

Wondering around the vineyards of Europe, is, from a winemaker’s and wine lover’s view, one of the greatest experiences one can embark on. From the rolling hills of Barolo, the insanely steep slate filled vineyard of the Mosel, to what looks like endless vineyards of the sparkling Champagne region.

Behind those great wines and beautiful views, lurks the unseen appellations system which can be difficult to understand straight from the pages of a book or looking at printed maps.

So, what is the appellation system, and do we have it here?

Yes and no!!  In Australia, if you display Hunter valley on the label, your vineyard has to be in the Hunter Valley catchment, which means vineyards in Merriwa, Pokolbin and Dungog can all sell wine from the Hunter Valley.  It’s a big area, like most GI (Geographical Indication) regions in Australia. But other than being made up of at least 85% from this region, there really aren’t any other rules defining the location of the wine.

There are no rules on what varieties we can and can’t plant in different wine areas around Australia, unlike the European appellation system.  The appellation system even goes so far as to have rules about time in oak, time in bottle, and yields, with the goal of creating a consistent quality across the appellation.

So, which is better?

Both the tightly controlled appellation classification system, and our more relaxed approach, have merits.  As a winemaker and wine lover, there is something incredibly special about standing in a vineyard with a glass in your hand after absorbing all the information from maps and books.  I personally get a sense of authenticity when walking through these vineyards, elevating the drinking pleasure of these wines to a new level.

On the other hand, with the change in climate, we may just have an upper hand in our ability to bend to the changes without getting bogged down in red tape or define the next generations drinking style without having to wait a generation for laws to be changed. And what a shame not to have such a wonderful representation of so many grape varieties from the numerous amazing wine regions here in Australia.

So many great wines, so little time.